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Holy War

Issue Number: 
117
 | 
Spring
 
2005

From name-calling to bogus 'scientific' claims, the Religious Right's 30-year war on homosexuality heats up. The relocation of a fundamentalist sect — and its 'prophet — to a small Texas town worries locals. Despite changes in leadership, legal battles, and organizational chaos, hate groups stayed on the rise in 2004.

In This Issue

Holy War

The religious crusade against gays has been building for 30 years. Now the movement is reaching truly biblical proportions
By Bob Moser
Though the religious crusade against gays has been building for 30 years, only now is the movement reaching truly biblical proportions.

A Thorn in Their Side

Mel White was a culture warrior on the religious right — until he came out
Read an interview with the Rev. Mel White, a confidante of religious right leaders including Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson — until he came out.

Tempest in Texas

By Susy Buchanan
Racist cult 'prophet' Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) is on the move, and a tiny West Texas town fears another Waco.

The Year in Hate, 2004

Key organizations on the radical right have lost their charismatic leaders. But the racist movement is still very much alive
By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow
Though many leading radical organizations lost their leaders in 2004, the extremist movement is still very much alive.

More Features

Vilification and Violence

Editorial
By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow
Though many religious right leaders criticizing homosexuality claim that they 'hate the sin but love the sinner,' their vicious personal attacks poison public debate and reinforce a cultural hatred that could lead to violence and death.

The Thirty Years War

A timeline of the anti-gay movement
Read a timeline of the radical right's thirty-year crusade against homosexuality.

'A Mighty Army'

A dozen major groups help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade
After the successes of early anti-gay crusaders like Anita Bryant, various fundamentalist groups organized around the polarizing issue of homosexuality.

The News That Fits

By Heidi Beirich and Mark Potok
Long criticized for its brand of journalism, The Washington Times makes a habit of publishing the work of extremists — including Marian Kester Coombs, wife of the newspaper's managing editor.

Sweet Home Alabama

Frightened right-wingers gather to keep the 'Cradle of the Confederacy' safe from leprosy, pedophiles, Spanish and rampant godlessness
By Susy Buchanan
At the third annual Alabama Tea Party, frightened right-wingers gather to keep the 'Cradle of the Confederacy' safe from leprosy, pedophiles, Spanish and rampant godlessness.

Solving Atlanta

By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow
In Hunting Eric Rudolph, a journalist and a retired cop detail the Rudolph case while also taking law enforcement to task.

The Gaede Bunch: Neo-Nazi Singing Group a Hit with Haters

Neo-Nazi stage mom April Gaede and her singing twins are poised for stardom, of a sort
By Susy Buchanan
Ambitious neo-Nazi stage mom April Gaede is positioning her singing twin daughters for stardom — of a sort.

Curious Cures

By David Holthouse
Defying mainstream science, 'ex-gay' ministries claim that homosexuality is a chosen behavior that can be 'cured.'

Making Myths

Anti-gay religious crusaders claim homosexuals helped mastermind the Holocaust. They're not telling the truth
By Bob Moser
After years of extremists promoting 'Holocaust revisionism,' some anti-gay religious crusaders now allege that far from being persecuted by Nazis, homosexuals were behind the Holocaust.

Briefs

Extremist Heads Arkansas Anti-Immigrant Lobby

Xenophobia
After being introduced by an Arkansas state senator as the leader of an anti-immigration group behind controversial state legislation, Joe McCutchen was revealed to have written anti-Semitic diatribes.

It's Official: Terry Nichols Admits OKC Role

Domestic Terrorism
After years of denying involvement in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, Terry Nichols has made a public statement of guilt as part of a plea bargain.

Sam Francis, Voice of the Radical Right, Dies Unexpectedly

Propaganda
Sam Francis, a white supremacist writer and veteran of such publications as The Washington Times, the CCC's Citizens Informer, and The Occidental Quarterly, died in February 2005 at the age of 57.

Extremist Joins S.C. Board of Education

Into the Mainstream
Neo-Confederate Ron Wilson, former commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans heritage group, has been elected to the South Carolina Board of Education by a delegation from Anderson County.

Twice Crucified, a White Supremacist Wants More

Pointed Protest
Gregory Withrow, activist and white supremacist, attempted to crucify himself on the steps of California's capitol in protest of the Iraq war on Feb. 5, 2005.

Ernst Zundel Deported from Canada, Charged in Germany

Holocaust Denial
Notorious German Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel has been deported from Canada after a prolonged legal battle, and promptly charged for inciting racial hatred by German authorities.

Panzerfaust Collapses Amid Aryan Purity Debate

White Power Music
After a drug bust and one founder of hate rock distributor Panzerfaust was revealed to have a Mexican-born mother, the white power music giant shut down.

What First Amendment?

By Catherine E. Smith

A proposed state ban on books that 'recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle' is gaining ground in Alabama — too bad it's clearly unconstitutional.